Last week when I was talking about liking to have a plan for how I want to get things done in a week, I mentioned that the tractor that we use for the church garden had some unexpected problems. However, since the week was well scheduled I was able to find time to make the needed repairs. What I did not mention is how extensive the work on the tractor was. Those of you who went up into the church shed over the winter know that the tractor was split in two. The back half was one place. The front half, with the engine and front wheels, was disconnected and pulled a few feet forward. There were big things wrong. I think anyone who has done any major repair work on a piece of equipment knows the anxiety of getting it all back together again. No, I don’t mean forgetting how it goes back together. And I don’t mean having a pile of parts leftover that you don’t know where they go. For any good mechanic takes lots of photos and has ways of keeping track of parts. I mean that even when you’ve documented everything and done everything carefully, there is still so much that has been done that you just hope you’ve done it all right. I held my breath when I test started the tractor. If I’d done anything wrong it wouldn’t work. And had all the work I had done actually solved the problem.
As it turned out, the main problem was fixed. A couple other issues came up though. That’s what made things messy. But even so… even with everything working and tested, there is still anxiety of it all being done well. For a while you operate a machine with tentativeness just to be sure.
I often wonder about surgeons who do much more delicate work than me fixing a tractor. If I mess up I’m frustrated and have to take things apart again. If a surgical team messes up the stakes are a lot higher! I don’t think I could handle the pressure.
There are many things in life where repairs and solutions are complicated. In fact, most things are that way. You rarely get to snap your fingers and have a problem go away permanently.
The gospel reading where it seems to take Jesus two tries to heal the blind man may take us by surprise. We’re used to Jesus just fixing everything completely and immediately. Jesus just shows up. He says a few words or makes a few gestures, and the problem is gone. In some cases he doesn’t even show up. There is the centurion’s servant and the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter where he heals at a distance. Jesus’ supernatural power is immediate and overwhelming. But we are blessed that Mark includes this story in his gospel. I suspect it made the other gospel writers nervous. In their gospels Jesus does indeed immediately fix everything perfectly. Mark alone gives us a few of these, let’s call them “messy” miracle stories. You may remember the scene Mark includes where Jesus is not able to perform miracles. When Jesus goes to his hometown of Nazareth the people do not accept him. In Mark 6:5 we’re told, “And he could do no deed of power there…” We’re not used to that. Why couldn’t Jesus do a deed of power there? Were his abilities limited by the attitude of the audience? We’re not told. To be truly fair, I only read half the sentence. The full sentence is, “And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.” But it does tell us that Jesus’ powers are not automatic and overwhelming.
I said we are blessed that Mark has included this story. Here is why. Scholars who focus on Mark’s gospel point out where this story is placed in the gospel. It is always important to remember that the gospels in the Bible are not so much history texts as they are theological treatises set in a historical story. When reading the gospels, theology, or a word about God, always comes first. History is its servant. And so the gospels are crafted to teach us about God and ourselves.
We read the scene just prior to Jesus taking two steps to cure the blind man. It sets it up. Just prior to that Jesus had had his second great healing miracle. The Pharisees had come to him and demanded a sign from him. But he said no sign would be given to this generation. So then Jesus when Jesus talks about the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod in what we read today we realize he is critiquing something about them. There is something they are missing. It is as if they are blind to what Jesus is doing, even as it is happening right before them.
So they are blind.
Then we have the healing of the blind man. It is detailed and fairly graphic. We’re told Jesus takes the blind man by the hand and leads him out of the village of Bethsaida. Then he puts saliva on his eyes and lays his hands on him.
This is far more touch and detail than we usually get. So when Jesus asks, “Can you see anything?” It seems like an odd question. We’re so used to Jesus just immediately curing everything that we expect the man to say, “Wow, everything is suddenly crystal clear!” But that is not what happens. The man says, “I can see people, but they look like trees walking.” Presumably this man had been able to see at some point earlier in his life if he knew what trees looked like! But obviously he is not cured. Of what value is such a healing? Not much!
Jesus lays his eyes on the man a second time. Then, and don’t overlook this detail, he looked intently. (The man looked intently, not Jesus.) Then he could see everything clearly. It was both Jesus repeated attention, plus the man’s intent looking that produced the clarity of the sight.
So, we have a story suggesting the figurative blindness of the Pharisees. Then we have the story of the blind man being cured with two steps. Then immediately following what we read in our gospel is the scene where Jesus asks the disciples who do people say that he is. You may remember that well. The disciples reply, “John the Baptist; and others Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He then asks them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replies, “You are the Messiah.”
Good going Peter! He’s showing some sight; or perhaps some insight.
Then Jesus tells them that he will undergo great suffering and be rejected by the religious experts, and be killed. But Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. This is almost as if Peter thinks Jesus is demon possessed and Peter is going to do an exorcism. But it is Jesus who replies with the language of exorcism, “Get behind me Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
So, Peter’s sight into who Jesus is, is only partial. It’s going to take seeing the crucifixion for Peter to have full sight into who Jesus is.
What does all this mean for our lives of faith? It means that when we pray we can’t expect problems to be immediately and permanently solved. It means that when we read the Bible we don’t read it only once, come to a full understanding, and never have to read that part again. Faith is an ongoing journey. It takes the work of Jesus (or the Holy Spirit) to inspire the faith, and then our intentness for it to be ongoing.
Later in this service we’ll be baptizing Emma. It would be great if after we pour water on her head and anoint her with oil that she would feel a major shift in her life of faith. It would be great if every moment afterward were a time of perfect clarity. It would be great if every physical ailment she has, or ever will have, would be magically and permanently solved. But that is not the case. If baptism is a touch from God it is only the beginning of a lifetime, and intent, journey to sight. Emma does not head off on her own for faith. Just like the blind man in the gospel, he could see clearly when there was both his intent looking and Jesus’ touch. It took both.
The next scene where Peter appears to be insightful and then is all too quickly falling short is where Peter is trying to see all by himself.
For Emma to live the fullness of life of her Christian faith it will be both Jesus’ ongoing touch plus her intentness. Faith may be a miracle. But it does not happen by accident.
In order for us to live the fullness of life promised by Jesus we need his touch, his ongoing touch. His presence. And we have it. With our intentions in alignment miraculous things do happen!
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